a quiet conversation
by autumn midnights
Summary: Luna and Ginny share a moment in the Room of Requirement. Set during DH.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter._

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They're sitting in the Room of Requirement. The rest of the D.A., even Neville, has already left, but Ginny didn't make a move to go with everyone else and Luna feels that she can't just walk out and leave Ginny there on a sofa by herself. Not when everyone else has left her - and by that, of course, Luna is not just referring to the current absence of the D.A. in the Room, but the fact that Harry and Hermione and Ron are all gone, and she can barely talk to her family via letter for fear of interception.

So Luna sits down next to her - on the floor, admittedly, because sometimes she just enjoys sitting on things that aren't societally normal to sit on - and minutes pass before Ginny speaks.

"Everything's falling apart," she says.

Luna leans against Ginny's legs. "Most things are," she says. "The Ministry's always been a bit of a disaster, you know. They just used to hide it better than they do now."

Ginny chuckles slightly. "Maybe if more people questioned the government like you and your dad, we wouldn't be here."

Luna blinks. "Well, yes," she says. "I suppose. Blind faith in anything always leads to bad decisions," she says wisely. She catches a look from Ginny, as if the other girl is questioning Luna's odd beliefs in things, but then the look is gone. Ginny must have realized quickly that there's a big difference between believing in Nargles versus believing in corrupt power structures. "But to be fair, there's also so much fear involved right now," she adds. "Everyone's scared. Of everything, it seems."

"Are you scared?" Ginny's voice is barely a whisper. One hand reaches out, tentative, un-Ginny-like, and brushes Luna's hair away from her face.

"No," Luna says. "I like to think that good will defeat evil. That we'll come out on top. That Harry and the others are out there fighting and doing something, while we're in here fighting and doing something." She shrugs. "If I didn't believe that, what would be the point of doing this? What would be the point of the D.A.?" She reaches up and takes Ginny's hand, feeling the skin calloused from years of Quidditch practice and stealing her brothers' brooms.

Ginny sighs. "You're right," she says. Her fingers tap a soft melody on Luna's hand - Ginny is never still, something Luna's picked up on through years of friendship. She bounces her leg, taps her fingers on some surface, twists her hair, doodles - anything to allow at least some part of her body to remain in motion when she's confined to one space. She's full of restless energy. It's quite interesting, really, and Luna, distracted from their original conversation, is about to comment on it when Ginny speaks again. "I wish I could be so - positive. Calm."

It takes Luna a moment to respond, because Ginny's hair catches the light and shines, soft ginger deepened to shiny fire. She stares; the light flickers, and the shine disappears. "You can be positive," she says. "Nobody's stopping you." She doesn't comment on the 'calm' part of Ginny's statement, because Ginny was always moving, wild, long before the war. That's a part of her personality.

"It's not that simple," Ginny says. She lets go of Luna's hand, but her fingers trail down to Luna's hair and free a small section, which she begins braiding. Luna pulls a small piece of ribbon out of her pocket and puts it on Ginny's leg.

"Yes it is," Luna answers. "You can say something positive, even if you don't mean it. And if you say it enough times, then maybe you will believe it." She taps Ginny's knee. "Go on. Say something hopeful."

Ginny ties the end of the small braid with the ribbon. "I hope - no, fine. We're going to have a future. A real future."

Luna smiles up at Ginny. "I like the sound of that."

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_Author's Note: I've always had a soft spot for these two. I don't usually write either of them - I'm a sucker for minor characters - but I had this little plot bunny and decided to go for it. Thanks for reading, and if you liked, please review!_


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